No new F1 team for 2011 season

In addition to the decision not to penalise Ferrari further, the World Motor Sport Council have also announced that there will be no 13th Formula 1 team for the 2011 season.

The F1 grid will remain at 24 cars next year

Their explanation for their choice was that none of the applying teams met the criteria to join the grid, meaning that the F1 paddock will continue to be limited to 24 cars next season.

The main applicants, Epsilon Euskadi, Durango/Villeneuve Racing and Stefan GP, all had disadvantages to their entry, although I would have thought that Epsilon Euskadi would still have been chosen, thanks to their impressive Le Mans technology centre. Before this decision, they had announced that they had already tested their first wind tunnel model of their 2011 car.

An FIA statement read as follows:

"Following the press release of 19 March 2010 calling for
expressions of interest to participate in the 2011 and 2012
seasons of the FIA Formula One World Championship, a number
of interested parties expressed their interest.
It was considered that none of the candidates met the
requirements to be granted an entry into the Championship.
Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be
granted."

Again, this is disappointing news, seeing as Epsilon Euskadi looked so far into their development, as well as being a fully professional outfit. There is still a possibility of a merger with Hispania, but both parties have since denied these rumours.